“Here you go,” Mrs. Louis says, holding out a folded uniform shirt. I thank her, grateful that she leaves as I get changed.

I think about that with goosebumps rising on my arms. At Innovations Academy, there was no expectation of privacy. It was another way they controlled us. And despite being far away from there, it’s like I can still feel their eyes on me. I hurry and change.

Once I’m cleaned up, I head out to where Mrs. Louis is waiting just outside the door. She holds out a pass, and I thank her for her care.

The second I’m in the hallway, I take out my phone and examine it. There’s a crack in the screen from when I dropped it. Sydney must have picked it up and put it in my pocket. I glance around the empty hallway before clicking through past calls.

There are none from my number. I check everything, but nothing seems out of place. I can’t escape the memory of what I saw. The garden, the woman asking to be let in …

I quickly hold out my arm to check for marks from when she grabbed me. But the skin there is smooth. It was only in my head.

Even though I’m sure it was just a hallucination … it felt so real. And the realization hits me: the voice that Leandra warned us about, the one Imogene heard. It seems likely that it’s this woman. But she didn’t ask me to kill anyone. At least not yet.

I have no idea who she could be or how she got inside my head. But we don’t understand our programming, how it can be altered or adjusted.

I have to talk to the girls and warn them, but I’m not going to chance using my phone again. I drop it on the floor with a loud crack, and then I stomp on it to make sure the woman can’t call me again. Once my phone is destroyed, I pull out the battery and drop the entire thing into the trash.

I’m shaky, but I get through the rest of the school day without incident. Several students watch me like I might pass out again, but no one mentions it. In fact, I’m ignored, which is fine with me. I’m out of sorts, a dull headache clinging to my temples.

“How are you feeling?” Sydney asks when she finds me after classes end. “I’ve been worried.” We walk together toward the exit. I haven’t told her about the woman; I want to wait until we’re away from the school.

“I have a headache,” I say.

“Yeah, me too.”

Surprised, I look over at her and she shrugs. “Sympathy pain?” she suggests.

“Maybe you heard the sound.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” she says. “At least not that I realized.”

“We’ll get home and see if Annalise has any thoughts on this,” I say.

Sydney rubs her temple in the exact spot where mine hurts.

When we get outside, I’m surprised to see the sun shining in a clear blue sky. Innovations Academy was close to the mountain, and nearly every day was overcast. This place is different; it could be the lower elevation.

Sydney and I are walking down the stone steps when I notice a crowd of boys standing next to a sleekly painted red car. I recognize Garrett, the angry boy from this morning. He’s laughing, talking with three other guys.

But one of them catches my attention, and I whisper Sydney’s name. She follows my line of vision.

There is one boy with reddish-blond hair and extraordinarily average features. But he wears his smile with confidence, his uniform fitting in a way that makes me think it was tailored. The other boys seem to defer to his approval.

A kid walking by calls to him. “Jonah!” My heart rate speeds up.

“A candidate?” Sydney asks, examining the boy. “You think he might be the investor’s son?”

“Could be,” I reply.

While we were preparing for Sydney and me to attend Ridgeview, the girls and I researched the traits that would describe an investor who has enough money to launder combined with enough maliciousness to want to invest in Innovations Academy in the first place. We used that to narrow down our search criteria to find the right student.

We decided that our target would have to be the child of a narcissistic, sexist, cruel egomaniac. I’ve only just seen this Jonah boy, but something about him seems right. Then again, a quick look around tells me that several of these boys could fit the bill.

At just that moment, Jonah glances over and notices me and Sydney. He doesn’t react at first, just sweeps his gaze over us. I quickly turn to Sydney and talk about a history assignment. It’s a little late, because from the corner of my eye, I see Jonah smile. He knows we were watching him.

Then again, we’ll have to get inside his orbit somehow. But right now, my head is killing me. And I have to warn the girls about the woman I saw.

“Let’s get out of here,” I tell Sydney, gesturing down the street with my notebook.

“Gladly.”

We get onto the sidewalk and head in the opposite direction of the boys. I hold my breath, hoping they won’t call after us, harass us. Thankfully, it’s quiet as we disappear into the neighborhood.

When we’re sure they’re gone, Sydney and I let our polite exteriors fall away.

“I hate it here,” she says, brushing her curly hair back over her shoulder. She no longer wears it the way Mr. Petrov specified. She chooses how she wants to look. We all get to decide for ourselves now, which is sometimes overwhelming. We’ve never had choices before.

“I’ll have to get a new phone,” I tell her.

“We all should,” she agrees.

I look around, paranoid. “I saw something when I passed out. And there was a woman there,” I add, lowering my voice.

“What kind of woman?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Older, I guess. Intense. We were in a garden, and she said she wanted me to let her inside my head. That she’s been looking for me. And, Sydney,” I say, my eyes wide, “I think she might be the voice Leandra warned us about.”

Sydney grabs my arm, pulling me to a stop. “Are you saying this woman was really inside your head? In your programming? ” she whispers.

“I don’t … I don’t know,” I say. “She knew about us. And then she asked my permission to access my mind.”

Sydney relaxes slightly. “Well, she’s not getting that.” She starts walking again, but her brow is furrowed as she thinks it over. “And you have no idea who she is?”

“None.”

She considers. “But someone couldn’t really do that, right? Get inside your consciousness through the phone? Is this what happened to Imogene?”

“It could be possible, I guess,” I say. “That sound … the screeching? I don’t know. We’ll have Annalise research. See if she can find anything. But …” I pause, scared.

“We’re not going to tell Leandra,” Sydney answers before I ask. When she turns to me, her jaw is set hard. “I’m not going to let her drive a spike into your head.”

I nod a thank-you and reach over to interlace my fingers with hers. I’m scared, but I know Sydney will stand with me no matter what.

“I’ve already called the girls to tell them you fainted,” Sydney says. When I tsk, she shrugs. “What did you want me to do?” she asks. “You were laid out on the cafeteria floor. Do you have any idea how gross that is? I knew it was serious.” She smiles at me.